ClueBy
TodayArchiveWord list

Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
YesNo
↻ New worksheet

Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: season · drill · land · spell · wake · hand · file · arm

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. land — a country
  4. hand — in cards
  5. file — a line of people
  6. file — a document
  7. land — ground
  8. spell — magic
  9. spell — a short time
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. file — a tool
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. drill — a practice
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. hand — help
  17. season — in sport
  18. spell — letters
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. drill — the tool
  21. season — of the year
  22. wake — a trail
  23. drill — army training
  24. land — to come down

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com